Nadine Osman

Mid Ulster councillors have condemned an Islamophobic incident on an unoccupied house in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. The words “Muslim scum” were spray-painted on the wall at the front of the property at Oaks Road in Dungannon.

Independent Councillor, Barry Monteith, described the act which is believed to have occurred sometime between May 3 night and the following morning, as “deplorable”.

He said: “No one should be targeted because of their religion. Our country, of all countries, should know that this type of action is unacceptable. In more recent times that area has become quite popular with the different nationalities that have come to Dungannon over the last 15 years.”

Sinn Fein Councillor, Dominic Molloy, said he was not aware of any previous issues in that part of the town, where a lot of migrant workers live.

“I condemn any racism in the area and call on people to desist, and anyone who is aware of any perpetrators should be going to the PSNI [Police Service of Northern Ireland]. There’s very little tension in the area. There’s a big mix of people who live and work alongside each other and there’s been no issues in the past particularly in that area.”

A spokesman for Police Service of Northern Ireland confirmed the incident has yet to be reported to police.

Chief Inspector Stephen Humphries added: “We would encourage all incidents of this nature to be reported to us as soon as possible. Police in Dungannon take hate crime seriously and actively investigate all incidents reported to us. Our message is very clear: in order to prevent hate crimes occurring, people need to report it to police.”